Kiwis are growing in Vancouver. Coal Harbour, to be exact.
The unexpected sight was recently highlighted on social media by local blogger Rebecca Bollwitt, aka Miss604
It's hard to say they're growing wild, as they're in a park. It's more that they're being grown as decoration along a staircase in Marina Square.
Kiwis, which are originally from China, are berries that grow on a vine. While many people think of them as tropical fruit from New Zealand, they're a fairly hardy plant; there's even a variety that was developed on Vancouver Island (the Saanichton 12).
In Marina Square, a city park that sits next to Bayshore Marina, there are several vines growing with unripe fruit berries currently dangling underneath the leaves. The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, which cares for the park, isn't sure when they showed up according to a spokesperson; the park was created around 1997 as all the condos in the area were built.
While it does bear fruit every year, picking and eating the little furry orbs is "not recommended," states the spokesperson, because "we do not have a long enough season for the fruit to ripen."
There are a few other kiwi plants tucked away in the region that the parks board is aware of. Van Dusen Botanical Gardens has some for sure. UBC's botanical garden has a different variety (that does ripen). It's believed there may be other kiwi plants located around the city, as well.
@vancouverisawesome There are kiwis growing in a Vancouver park. We tried one so you don’t have to. #vancouverisawesome #VIAnews #kiwi #vancouverbc ♬ Eat It - "Weird Al" Yankovic
